Though renowned for his other roles as well, Mark Hamill is remarkably famous for his breathtaking performance as the iconic Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise. After his last portrayal of Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi in 1983, Hamill thought that was the end for him in the franchise. But little did he know that he would be going back to reprise his role once again for Episode VII and Episode VIII of the Star Wars film series.
However this time, it was slightly tougher than before because of the brutal diet and exercise regimen he had to follow, even at his then-age of 65, just to pick up his lightsaber once again–something that could’ve easily made even Obi-Wan Kenobi join the dark side.
Mark Hamill Had A Brutal Diet Regime For One Minute Scene In Star Wars
Although he was happy about his surprise return to his role as Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens and the films that followed, Mark Hamill had to follow a strict diet and exercise regime as well, the diet part of which involved ‘a spartan snack plate of carrot sticks and hummus’.
As shared by him in an interview with Vanity Fair:
“You just cut out all the things you love,” he said. “Something as basic as bread and butter, which I used to start every meal with. Sugar. No more candy bars. No more stops at In-N-Out.”
However, instead of looking at it as a brutal diet that could easily make even Obi-Wan Kenobi join the dark side, Hamill looked at it more as ‘just a general awareness’ because:
“In the old days, I’d go, ‘Well, I’m not that hungry, but oh, here’s a box of Wheat Thins,’ and you don’t put the Wheat Thins in the same category as Lay’s potato chips, and yet I would sort of idly, absentmindedly eat these things while watching Turner Classic Movies, and ‘Oh, I ate the whole box!’”
Yet, what was even worse than this crushing diet accompanied by training he had to follow for a whole 50 weeks was that he only had the minutest role in The Force Awakens: He had to appear in the last scene of the film for a nonspeaking part.
Nonetheless, that was made up for when Mark Hamill reprised his role as Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi–even though he dies by the end of it.
Mark Hamill Shared What He Would’ve Done Differently In The Force Awakens
While Mark Hamill was given a nonspeaking role in the same film where he is being searched for and where Han Solo dies, the actor believes he could have done the films differently had he got the choice. Sharing what he would have changed in The Force Awakens, he said:
“Carrie will sense that Han is in danger and try to contact me [via telepathy]. And she won’t succeed, and, in frustration, she’ll go herself. Then we’re in the situation where all three of us are together, which is one of my favorite things in the original film when we were on the Death Star.”
Claiming this last part has a ‘fun dynamic to it’, Hamill continued to share his opinion of how it would have been more effective:
“Leia would make it as far as she can, and, right when she is apprehended, maybe even facing death—Ba-boom! I come in and blow the guy away and the two of us go to where Han is facing off with his son, but we’re too late.”
Among all the things he could have changed, Han Solo’s death wasn’t one of them because, in his opinion, the Skywalker twins witnessing Solo’s death was important as it carried ‘enormous personal resonance’ to the next film in the series.
Regardless, looking at the massive critically positive response that The Force Awakens received, Hamill was more than okay with his misgivings being damned, as he said: “I’ve never been more happy to be wrong.”
